The Mysteries of Casscadia
Sonic peered long and hard over the great mountains. He couldn't believe what was reflecting through his eyes. Such a great city... so abandoned... what was it doing here?
"Tails," the king said as he looked over, "what is all of this?"
The two tailed fox raised and lowered his shoulders, as a shrug came to his face.
"I don't know," he said, "Hope's PDA doesn't say..."
This city, that the king, his brother, and their people looked at, was horrifying. The city, whatever it was, was safely hidden behind a mountain. The great summit casted a shadow over the city, one that added to the abandoned metropolis' eeriness.
"Ah, King Sonic!" a member of the royal guard said as he walked up, his french accent being noticable, "What iz it you would have uz do?"
"Uh... spread out, and search the city, got that Antoine?"
The fox nodded, before turning to his men.
"Zyou heard the king!" he said, "Everyone, round-up in groupz of three, and spread out!"
With his orders done, Sonic immediately dashed down to the city's center, Tails' at his side. Upon further inspection, Sonic could see just how old the city was. Buildings were brown, some grey with age. Plant life now spread up and down the great buildings, alongside its sidewalks and streets. A cold and depressing wind blew through the town, ruffling Sonic's spins and Tails' fur.
"What is this doing here?" Sonic suddenly asked, causing Tails to straighten up, "I mean, Shadow said there was nothing over here..."
"Maybe Shadow tried making a settlement here that didn't make it." Tails answered.
The king laid a finger on his muzzle, as he looked up and around.
"I don't think so, Tails." he answered as he began to walk off once more.
"Why is that?" Tails said, coming to his side.
"There's no stature or monument of Maria..."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Remember when I said I went to Shadow's castle?"
"Yeah..."
"Shadow had made Maria into a religious figure... said that his people needed something to believe in... This city doesn't have anything for her."
"Sonic, we've been in here for literally one minute, I think we'll find something."
The king stopped.
"Maybe..." he answered, his voice sounding hollow.
...
"Who were those girls?" Sally asked as she pulled on Manik's arm.
"I don't know mommy!" he yelled back as he clenched onto his pain stricken hand.
"Didn't they look familiar?" Knuckles asked as he stepped through some shrubbery.
"Two human girls with the power to use Chaos Control? Yeah, they look real familiar." Sally answered sarcastically.
"Look, I'm just trying to get some answers Sal, you don't need to be rude."
"I'm not rude," she responded, before glaring down to her son, "I'm furious! Manik, what were you doing with those girls!?"
"Exploring!" he answered fearfully.
"Exploring some old, Black Arm's temple!?"
"Yeah," Knuckles suddenly butted in, "that place reminded me of Glyphic Canyon... me and Shadow went through there long ago. I wonder what it's doing here..."
"And who were those girls!?" Sally roared, causing Manik to flinch.
"Please mommy, you're hurting me."
Sally gave Manik an inquisitive eye, before releasing the death grip she had on his arm. He rubbed it for a few seconds, before running up to Knuckles' side.
"Hey kid," he said, "I've known Sally for a long time, I recommend you tell her who those girls were."
"But... they didn't say who they were... just there name."
"Then tell her... or else."
The prince nodded, before walking back to his mother. To afraid to look at her face, he instead gazed down to the ground.
"Mommy," he began, "those girls... their names were Maria and Molly..."
At that moment, Knuckles stopped, inadvertently causing Sally to run into him.
"What was that?" he and Sally said in unison.
"The girls' names... they were Maria and Molly..."
"One's name is Maria... they used Chaos Control... Hope is has been the only girl Shadow's been with..." turning to Sally, Knuckles gave her deadly glare, "You don't think!" they said in unison.
"Did they give a last name?" Sally yelled to her son, causing him to flinch.
"Yes!" he said, fearfully, "Kinto... something"
"Kinto, something? Kintobor?"
"Yes, Kintobor!"
"Kintobor... and their names were Maria and Molly... Maria and Molly Kintobor..."
A few seconds of silence followed, before Sally said,
"A human... and a hedgehog... had... children..."
"Twins..." Manik remarked.
A few more seconds of silence followed, before Sally began to, surprisingly, laugh. She laughed hard and painfully, clenching her stomach, before falling to her knees. Knuckles and Manik watched this for a while, before the Master Emerald protector said,
"Wow... I think you broke her..."
...
It was nighttime at Ark Castle... and two eight year old girls were running through its halls. Maria and Molly snuck by guards, as they frantically tried to find their room.
"Oh man, Dad's gonna kill us if he finds out what we did!" Maria said.
"Good thing he won't find out!" Molly barked back as she fiddled with their door.
"But you know Daddy! He always figures things out!"
"Just shush!"
Finally, she pushed the door open, causing both young girls to spill out onto their royal floor.
"Quick!" Molly ordered, "Get in bed or else!"
"Molly! Maria!" they heard yelling through the castle, causing both to tense up. It was, their... father...
"Oh crap! We need to hurry!" Molly said, her voice urgent.
"Just stop time!" Maria said as she loosened the buttons on her overalls, "You're better at that than I am."
"You dolt!" Molly barked back as she tore off her shoes, "You know time stop doesn't work on Daddy!"
"MOLLY! MARIA!" Shadow yelled once more.
"Oh, he's getting closer!" Molly whispered to her sister, "Quick get in bed!"
"But I'm not undressed yet!"
"JUST DO IT!"
Maria locked up, but did as she was told. Turning around to face the darkness, the two girls leaped into the shadows of their room. A loud thud echoed out, causing Molly to face the shadows.
"Maria," she whispered, "what happened?"
"I missed my bed..." she said back lowly, before climbing into what was her bed.
The two girls instinctively drove their heads into their pillows and closed their eyes shut. Their ears perked though as they heard voices echoing from the other side of their door.
"Shadow calm down." Their mother, Hope, said.
"I can't," Shadow remarked, "I know if those girls didn't get up from my first call, that can only mean one thing."
"They've been doing something bad."
"What a mischievous duo."
Slowly, their door opened, and a finger flipped a switch. The lights within the room beamed on and illuminated the corridors belonging to the princesses. It was a big room, of course, as it belonged to the first borns of the Casscadian royal family. The windows were great and church like, while the walls themselves were beautifully adorned in gold and black paint along with electric candles. On the floor, a red square rug that stretched to all corners of the room. And, as per usual, the rug, along with the curtains and bed sheets, had the great symbol of the Black Arms on it.
But there were differences within the room. Walking into it, one could easily tell the differences between Molly's side of the room, and Maria's side. The blonde princess's side was filled with many stuffed dolls, along with, surprisingly, a series of books. She enjoyed reading. Molly's side was much different. Looking at her side, one could tell she was obsessed with machinery, specifically weapons. Toy and scale models of Black Arms vehicles peppered her floor, while the flying vehicles hung above her head. Truly, she was a child of war.
And yet, this meant very little to the King. He looked at his daughter's lofts with visibly angry eyes, before he cleared the distance between himself and his red-haired daughter.
"Molly." he whispered, his voice calm.
"... Daddy?" she answered, her voice tired. Boy was she a good actor.
"Tell me Molly," he continued, "is it often you sleep with your ear rings still on?"
Locking up, she found it hard to come up with an answer. Shadow, on the other hand, quickly latched his fingers onto one of her ears, and pinched it tightly.
"Went out to the temples on the other side again, did you!?" he yelled.
"Ow, ow, ow! Sorry Daddy!" she answered, causing Shadow to let go.
"Maria!" Shadow said as he turned around.
Pulling her sheets off, he found his daughter balled up, as if she were a hedgehog. Her blonde quills shot skyward, and caused Shadow to sigh.
"Maria, you can stop faking now..." Molly said.
"Oh poo!" she said, uncurling from her defense position, "And I was trying really hard this time."
"What were you two doing?" Hope asked as she walked.
"Uh... nothing..." Maria said, her voice childish.
"They went back to the temples on the other side, again, Hope."
"What have we been telling you two about that place?" Hope scolded.
"Don't go inside... or else..."
"Exactly!" Shadow said, standing up, "And I definitely don't want anyone finding that place."
Maria and Molly locked up, but they didn't show it.
"And... and why is that, Daddy?" Molly spoke first.
"And why is that?... Molly, Maria, did someone else find that place?"
"We-"
"NO! No one!" Molly interrupted.
Shadow looked at her with an inquisitive eye, before sighing.
"Listen, you two, I have a very special mission for you."
"Could you stop calling it that?" Hope said, "I don't like the thought of my children going on missions."
"As you know, we have special guests." Shadow said, "And they don't in particularly trust us."
"Well its our planet!" Molly said, crossing her arms, "They should be lucky we don't kick them off of it!"
"As much as I agree," Shadow commented, "we can't just do that..."
"So... what is it you want us to do?" Maria asked.
The King crossed his arms, before saying,
"Get dressed, and head to the lobby, ok?"
They nodded.
"Good, c'mon Hope."
As the two exited their children's room, a lone figure appeared. He looked at his sisters with his red eyes, as his ears began to twitch.
"You two stink at warping, just so you know." he said.
"Oh shut up, Jr.!" Molly said as she threw a pillow in his face
...
Sonic looked at the metallic building as a myriad of thoughts ran through his mind. Twelve inches of hard, reinforced steel, covered the walls. One of his armed guards stepped out of the building, removing his gas mask as he did so. Nodding, he confirmed Sonic's fears. But he refused to believe it.
"Is it, or is it not?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes King," the guard said, "it is..."
"I can't believe it," Tails remarked as he put the PDA away, "The Black Arms virus... here, of all places."
The King shook his head, before saying to the guard,
"Did you see anything inside?"
"No, King Sonic, it was too dark, we'd need some flashlights before he head in."
The King groaned, before gazing down to his red cape. Reaching into it, he withdrew the purple Chaos Emerald. Looking to his guard, he suddenly ordered,
"Give me your mask."
The guard locked up, before nodding.
"But, my King," he said as he removed the mask, "you can't go in there yourself!"
"Course I can," Sonic replied, "I'm Sonic the hedgehog."
As he put on the mask, Tails began to tug on his shoulder.
"This is crazy, Sonic, you don't even know what's down there!" he said.
"Tails, just because I'm king, doesn't mean I have to wait!"
"But what if you get attacked by something down there? Or the virus gets you!"
"As long as I don't remove this mask, I'll be fine, now stop sweating it!"
Tightening the hold on his mask, he breathed in deeply.
"Tails," he said, his voice now robotic under the mask, "tell Antoine to get over here pronto."
"Got it."
Removing his crown, the hedgehog, suddenly dashed inside. With the purple Chaos Emerald in hand, the area was illuminated, no matter how dark it got. The deeper he went inside, the slower he got though. The hall was much deeper than he believed. The small dome that was on the outside, was actually just the entrance to a sprawling underground bunker. As Sonic walked through the halls, he felt a strange ominous presence following him. Turning around quickly, he saw nothing. Sweat began to drip from his brow, as his heart began to race.
Boy, did the thought of the Black Arms virus get his heart racing. He remembered the last time he was inflicted with the disease. Every muscle in his body, save for his face, tightened up. It was a horrific feeling. It was like, he could see, hear, and feel, everything, but he couldn't do anything about it. It was he, Knuckles, Amy, Tails, Rouge, and even Dr. Robotnik. They were on the Black Comet, trying to get Shadow to come to his senses, when Black Doom revealed his plans. To have everyone on Mobius devoured to feed the alien race, he couldn't believe it. He would've stricken the alien king himself had the virus not gotten to him. Only Shadow was unaffected, seeing as he shared the same blood as the demented king. Seconds later, he ran off to kill he who was his, father.
And this place was filled with it. Why was the Black Arms virus here? He needed answers, and he was going to find them. Taking a step down a staircase, his foot met a sticky substance. Sonic beamed his Chaos Emerald down, and saw a deep, dark dye reflecting into his eyes. Though it were a different color, he knew exactly what it was.
"Blood..." he said, his voice weak and fearful.
Gazing up, he found that the faded die also laid on the walls and ceiling. Even though he couldn't smell it, he could feel the blood oozing from off of the corridors. He wanted to puke, but he knew better. Stepping down into the shadowy halls he could see scorch marks, and blast marks on the walls and floors. A battle happened here. Stepping forward, he could even see disused weapons of unknown origins. They didn't look Black Arms-like, nor Mobian-like. They didn't even look like the new weapons the Black Arm's had. This set Sonic's lungs on fire. He hadn't even noticed he was breathing in and out so violently.
Lifting his purple Chaos Emerald, he noticed an open series of doors running down the bloody hall. Walking down it, he realized that these doors lead to individual small living quarters. Sonic shook his head at the sight, as he trekked down even deeper. What happened here, he wondered, praying that whoever met their fate here went easily. Coming to an intersection, he found a great door cracked slightly open. Sonic moved through the slightly open entryway, and was suddenly blasted by a storm of light.
Covering his eyes, he realized the light wasn't man-made, and came from the sun. The ceiling had a hole in it, allowing light to pour through as it pleased. After his eyes readjusted to the light, he removed his hand and gazed around the room. And something terrifying caught his eye.
Whatever it was, it laid in a chair behind a desk. Its eyes were small slits, with small circles within them. The creäture, appeared bug light in origin. Its head, had a long needle like beak on it. It also had arms and hands, with three long fingers on it. On its back, four bug like wings, each broken in different ways.
Sonic eyed the creäture before him intensely. It was dead, he could tell, but that didn't stop the fear from running through his body. Saying nothing, he walked up to it. Within the bug creature's hand, a small, metallic, circular disc. Always one to dive in, Sonic took the disc from the creature's great hands. It was dusty, a testament to age, and it had one button at its end. Sonic tapped it.
The screen in the middle of the disc began to flicker, before a light finally appeared. Sonic gazed down to the light as it formed a 3-D image. A hologram, if you will. The hologram had the same likeness as the bug alien Sonic just saw. Sonic squinted at the image, before dragging his hand through it. The hologram fizzed a bit, but returned to its original image seconds after. And then, it spoke.
"Nxe oloh aj houtadw kxaj, ak aj eloh..." its voice was bug like, but clearly audible. If only Sonic knew what is was saying, "Cok kxaj ro kxo cujk kojkumodk veh kxo Darcrak huso." the image faltered a bit, and revealed the image of a beautiful planet, "Eih fcudok nuj luhaurco ad dukiho, udt xut mudy, mudy, foefco..." slowly, the image faded away, and was replaced by the sight of the Black Comet. Sonic gasped, "Rik kxod, kxo Rcusb Semok, uffouhot." the image suddenly changed to that of the sky. Sonic recognized that scene from when the Black Arms first attack. Black Arm alien after Black Arm alien dropped from the sky, and in the image, the same happened, "Kxoy neictd'k jkef semadw... kxoy selohot olohy adsx ev eih cudt, udt rowud baccadw olohyedo, udt olohykxadw!" The image showed the Black Arms fighting the bug aliens, and it showed the bug aliens, losing, "Ucuj, no noho tovoukot, rik kxoy neictd'k jkef kxoho..." the image showed the bug aliens locking up, and freezing, "U lahij nuj hocoujot ifed eih feficukaed... kxo ehtohj ev rcusb coutoh..." the image showed something strange. A shadowing figure, that only showed... quills... Sonic's eyes widened at the sight, "Edso kxo lahij xut tedo akj zer, kxo ucaodj rowud ke ouk ij..." the image showed the bug aliens being smothered by Black Aliens, and ultimately eaten. Sonic truly wanted to barf now, but he pressed on, "Edcy u von ev ij jihlalot, udt no tat je ry semadw adke kxaj ridboh." it showed the bug aliens coming into the bunker, as a means of protection, "Rik A um uvhuat ak aj dek odeiwx... olod den, A sud xouh kxom rudwadw ed kxo eikjato, khyadw ke semo ad..." it returned to the image of the bug alien, as he looked up at Sonic, "Av udyedo vadtj kxaj mojjuwo, kxod no xulo vuccod... A fhuy, kxuk kxo rcusb uhmj uho tovoukot edo tuy, udt kxoah olac tojkheyot..." Gunshots echoed from the hologram seconds after, and caused Sonic's heart to lock up. The bug alien turned away to face the very door pried open now, and the image faded away.
The King of Mobius was not sure what he just saw, but it drove a deep, angry, fear into him. This planet wasn't abandoned... it was once filled with people... and they were killed by... the Black Arms.
"No..." he said lowly at first, before roaring out, "NO!"
"Sonic!" Tails' voice echoed from outside the room. The King ran out to the doorway, to see his younger brother, Antoine, and his armed guards searching the area.
"Hey, Zonic!" Antoine said, "Are you... alright?"
"What happened?" Tails asked.
Sonic said nothing, but walked up to Tails. Handing him the small disc, he dashed out of the bunker to the city outside. Removing his gas mask, he spewed all the contents he had in his stomach at the time. He puked for a good minute, before coming to a stop. Standing outside for five minutes, he was suddenly joined by his younger brother. Tails laid his hand on Sonic's back, then grew silent. They remained in silence for a while, before Tails said,
"What... doing you think happened."
"I'll tell you what happened!" Sonic said angrily as he sprang up, "The Black Arms came, and killed every single person here! Everyone!"
Tails looked away, as they had already known that.
"And Shadow lead them!" Sonic added.
"Whoa there! We don't know that!" Tails said.
"What do you mean, we don't know? Did you not see the hologram!? It was pretty obvious what happened. They came, they saw, they murdered! Shadow leading them."
"Sonic, you know Hope would never allow Shadow to do such a thing."
"Really? You don't think she wouldn't!? She's head over heels for him! She probably helped."
Sonic laid his hand on his head, and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe it. He knew Shadow was violent, too violent, but causing the genocide of an entire race? He couldn't believe it.
"Sonic, you're angry," Tails said, "just calm down and listen to yourself."
"Calm down!? We're living right next to the people who killed an entire race, Tails!"
"But we don't know that! What if-"
"What if, what, Tails? Did you see the hologram? Did you see the figure with quills, just like Shadow's?"
"I saw the figure, Sonic... but that could be anything... anyone."
"You know damn well it's not... Shadow killed them... he... killed them..."
Tails opened his mouth to speak, but he was stopped by a tone. Looking down to the PDA Hope gave him, he turned it on. The image scratched for a bit, before showing Hope. She was wearing her overalls, as usual, and she gave Tails a heartfelt smile.
"Hey Tails!" She said.
"Uh... hey, Hope..."
"Wow," she teased, "you look down in the dumps today," slowly her face bent town into a worried smile, "is everything okay?"
"Well... we're just running into some trouble trying to find land, and all..."
"Really? It should be empty over there..."
"It should be..." Sonic snickered from behind.
"Why'd you call, Hope?" Tails asked.
"Are you near Sally? I think this is Queen, to Queen."
"Sorry, we're not near her... at all..."
"Well... then, is Sonic there?"
"Uh, yeah, he's right here."
Tails turned the screen skyward, so Hope could not see the city nor Sonic's face. Handing him the PDA, made facial gestures to the King, saying, 'calm down'. Sonic grunted, before changing his face to a forced smile. Grabbing the screen, he said,
"Hey Hope!"
"Hello, King of Mobius." she replied.
"Why the sudden call?"
"Shadow wishes to have talks, ya'know, measures only us royalty can have."
"Why doesn't he call the president, then." he snarled, causing Hope to raise an annoyed eyebrow.
"Please Sonic," she said, "your rivalry ended years ago, there's no need to be spiteful."
One look at Tails told the King to straighten up his attitude.
"I know... sorry 'bout that." he responded
"It's alright... I've built-in a Casscadian clock into the PDA here. Once the time hits, well, 14:30 PM, I want you and your family to be out in the fields, ya'know somewhere away from everyone else. We'll open a Chaos Gate over as soon as possible."
"And if we refuse?"
"You are in no position to, refuse." Shadow's voice suddenly came in, as he walked up behind his wife, "Remember, Sonic, we still have your rockets on our side of the planet."
Sonic gave Shadow an angry look, before saying,
"Fine, 14:30 PM."
"On the dot, Sonic..." Shadow remarked.
Suddenly, the screen went out. Sonic stood angrily, as he shook his fist violently.
"What are you going to do, Sonic?" Tails asked.
"I'm going to go, I have no choice."
Tails nodded.
"Hopefully, you can get some answers." he added.
"No! I can't let Shadow know we're on to him... if he finds out, he'll keep our things, and we'll be sitting ducks. I have to wait until he gives us our rockets back. At that point, we'll plan something."
"Listen to yourself, Sonic. If Shadow wanted us dead, he'd already have killed us all, you know that!"
"Shadow may not want us dead, but he did have those people killed! I can't let that go unpunished!"
"Then what are you going to do?"
"It's not want I will do!" he turned away, "It's what she's going to do."
"Don't tell me..."
"Get Rouge... we'll need her."